Consumer Weighs In On Beef Controversy: “Dude, It’s Beef.”

A consumer offers his unbiased view on the debate over lean finely textured beef -- "Dude, it's beef!" We are giving away three t-shirts with that catch-phrase. To enter, simply leave your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below. We will randomly select our winners and make the announcement tomorrow!

Andrew Revkin admits to not eating much beef in his household. Since he’s not a huge fan of steak and burgers, it would seem likely that the smear campaign against the beef industry would please him. But, that’s hardly the case.

In a New York Times opinion piece, the Dot Earth blogger voices the phrase, “Dude, it’s beef,” and stresses how the nation’s beef supply provides affordable protein options in an efficient, safe manner.

Want to score a "Dude, it's beef," t-shirt? Leave a comment on today's blog with your thoughts on how this smear-campaign is hurting the beef industry and be entered to win a t-shirt! We have three to give away; I will announce the winners tomorrow!

“In my home, we rarely eat beef. And I’d love to see the day when all beef comes from free-range herds like the one up the road from me. But given that we’re not going to a meat-free society any time soon, and that kids need cheap sources of low-fat protein, I’d like those pushing the yuck factor to consider the extra 1.5 million head of cattle that will need to be slaughtered to fill the ground beef gap. I’m all for open disclosure of food contents, but not when the labeling effort is aimed at fomenting fear over facts.” writes Revkin.

With three of four BPI facilities temporarily closed, the loss of jobs due to the unfair media frenzy surrounding lean finely textured beef (LFTB) will hit many American families hard this spring. Furthermore, the hype will also drive up meat prices at a time when consumers are having to cut back on expenses as a result of rising prices for food and fuel.

“The industry is telling us that the removal of this filler is the equivalent of losing 1.5 million head of cattle, and cattle already are in tight supply,” says Hy-Vee spokeswoman Ruth Comer in an interview with the Des Moines Register.

“Cattle and beef prices soared last year because cattle herds, already at their lowest levels since 1952, were hit hard last year by the drought on the big rangelands of Texas and Oklahoma. Combined with a surge in U.S. exports, cattle prices increased by 25% to record levels in late 2011 and early this year. The result was an increase in retail hamburger prices of as much as 20% last year, according to USDA surveys. Any increase in beef prices would reverse what has been a gradual softening of beef prices in the last month due to what Smith and other traders have said has been rising consumer resistance to higher beef prices,” the Register reports.

“The latest figures from the USDA’s Livestock Marketing Information Center show that the beef slaughter ran 4.4% below a year earlier for the week ending last Saturday. The fresh beef trimmings that go into the textured beef/pink slime additive, were down in price by 19% through Monday as meat processors began to cut back on their purchases.”
To read the full report, click here.

It’s amazing how quickly an orchestrated PR campaign can sink a USDA-approved and proven product that’s been in use for decades and has been served in literally billions of meals during that time, without a single complaint of foodborne illness against it. Plus, it’s a process and product that is supported by food scientists, USDA officials, consumer advocates, academia and consumers.

Discuss this Blog Entry 47

Number one: We have to quit calling it "filler"! Lean finely textured beef is 100% beef. Usually above 97% lean. Not filler! Filler is usually made of cereals. The consumer needs to know this and also needs to know that any ground beef over 50% lean could be astronomically priced with out the availability of this product to retail ground beef marketers. If retailers have to grind full muscle cuts to get to 70-90% lean ground beef instead of cutting steaks and roast the price will put many consumers out of the higher % lean ground beef market.

I think we've made the mistakes ourselves. Instead of combating negativity in the first place we allowed it to have years of "bad reputation". What I mean by this is that instead of always referring to it as lean finely textured beef we called it a filler. This allowed it to be confused with other negatively viewed contents in the beef world. A certain Taco Bell back lash comes to mind.

I think the most devastating part of this whole ordeal is the amount of jobs that have been lost or put on hold. Everyone out there playing this story up thinks they are doing such a great thing by slamming the beef industry but they don't realize that its more than a food product they've had taken off the shelves. It's jobs they've taken off the market. It's money they've taken out of bank accounts of people who may live paycheck to paycheck. And it's ultimately driving up their food costs which is just going to get them fired up again and give them more ammunition.

My father's side of the family have been beef cattle farmers since as far back as we can remember, and my mother's side have always loved beef. The problem with my mother's side is that they believe what they hear without looking in to or researching a controversial topic. I feel like that half of the family is very impressionable in this way by all of the media they read or see, much like a large majority of people in America. Like Revkin's statement, "I’m all for open disclosure of food contents, but not when the labeling effort is aimed at fomenting fear over facts." I see it closely in my family's response to all of this LFTB scare and I hope everyone else does their research too.

What these so called consumer organization need to realize that it's going to cost them in a couple of ways. First, it will raise the price of nearly all ground beef products. It could lead to the demise of most items on the dollar menu on most fast food chains and will increase the cost of school lunch programs. CattleFax estimates that if LFTB is not available it will cost the beef industry 15 to 20 dollars a head in lost value. Is losing a 100% beef, 100% safe product worth it?

The anti-beef industry groups have preyed upon the general ignorance with respect to many aspects of the beef industry. They have not only turned a USDA approved and safe protein source into a poison, they have again played to the idea that the beef industry is somehow out to get people.
The beef industry like any other, has some poor practices and has made it's share of mistakes, but it is about as traditional Americana as you get. Many traditional calf cow operations and more new ones are moving toward an animal welfare approved and all grassfed model. Yet, these stories rarely make it past our own trade magazines. I trust that the public will look past this attack which belies an agenda that is less than transparent.

I love beef. As a beef producer, and a college student majoring in public relations for the purpose of beef "agvocacy", I find it do interesting that our consumers don't always do their research. This whole issue was brought upon by uninformed misleading people who obviously understand how words can scare the public. I am so happy to hear a consumer who actually did some homework and didn't take things at the misinformed level that most have. On twitter, a "beef producer" said he was disgusted by this, I replied to his tweet to the Huffington post article with a simple "beef is beef!" and the website info. He responded with "you'd seriously eat that crap?" I was totally surprised and said "not only do I eat beef, we feed it to our families!" informed consumers and producers are helping to clear up this drama, and social media is helping us tell our story.

Everyone at my university has heard me say "Beef is beef" so many times in the last few days, and I'd love to have a shirt to push the message! Let me know if they are available online for purchase if I'm not lucky enough to grab one!

I also encourage people to enter the NY Times contest (entries due April 6th) on why eating meat is ethical! They are giving us a chance to tell our story!

Visit www.beefisbeef.com for more info, and keep trusting your American beef producers and family farms!

I think the industry needs to hire a better marketing/PR firm. Whoever came up with 'Dude, It's Beef' needs a new line of work. The use of 'Dude' sounds condescending. Your problem is not the surfer in Southern Cal, its the soccer mom in suburbia that is waking by the retail case. You will not get her with 'Dude, It's Beef'. You will not get her by insisting on calling it beef either. You need to find a term that properly describes the product but which also indicates how it differs from other terms used to describe beef products. Otherwise people will always think you are trying to get away with a fast one, and then you have lost. It may already be too late for BPI at this point, the horse left the barn about three weeks ago. 'Dude, it's beef" does not count as Hail Mary, more like a 10 yard pass with 2 secs left. As to the post above, beef will not be astronomically priced, just higher priced. Currently 90CL beef (wholesale) is about $2.2 per pound, round insides are $2.04, round flats are $1.93 etc. So you will put more round and chuck cuts in the grinder, prices will be higher than what we've normally paid but astronomical implies many zeros, let's keep things a bit in perspective.

I see your point, I used the term astronomical because the cost to the industry as a whole and the cost to the consumers as a whole both stand to be that on a annual basis. My point is we're losing between 10 and 20 pounds per carcass at the slaughter level.
That's going to compound going up and down the chain both ways.

As a beef producer I believe beef should be positively promoted. The residents in our country do not realize the wonderful food source they have readily and affordably available to them through the hard work of farmers. Sadly too many consumers are uninformed.

After reading the comments on Andrew Revkin's blog, agriculture and the food industry has an uphill battle in educating the American consumer on how food is grown and processed. Logic, reason and science seem to loose out to media hype and the loud voice of the activist.

Remember, in order to win a "Dude, It's Beef!" t-shirt, you need to leave your name in the comment! If you were one of the "Anonymous" that already commented, just add your name with another comment! Thanks for all the discussion! -- Jamie Purfeerst, BEEF Sr. Assoc Editor

I believe that this explosion was caused by a change in our times. Many people focus on what our legislators are doing (which is essential) and forget that sometimes the general public can do the most damage to agriculture.

As an active "agvocate" I have seen numerous tweets and Facebook post on many topics in the cattle industry. The "Pink Slime" controversy was fueled by misinformation in the news media and that misinformation spread like wildfire on social media. It is amazing how this thing exploded so quickly! Companies, the government and beef producers have all had adverse affects not because of a new regulation but because of the technology we have at our finger tips.

I believe everyone has a right to know what is in the food they feed their family. We can not feed an ever growing population using the practices of the 1940's but we can do our best to help the consumer feel comfortable with the food we produce by being honest. As a previous poster said we must take the first steps and call Finely Textured Lean Beef what it is beef...not a filler. We as farmers & ranchers must also become educated about what happens to our cattle when they leave our farm and go into the food chain so that we can fully comprehend the process.

To clear up this controversy and many more we must all take a united stand and speak up for agriculture, no matter if its in the grocery store, through social media, or in your local newspaper. The number one thing keeping us from succeeding is ourselves...corn growers argue with beef producers, organic farmers bash non organic and visa versa...we are all farmers and we must all learn to respect one another and speak unitedly if we want the American consumer to trust us again.

Also I think the longer we keep this in the news the worse it will be. At some point you have to cut your loses, I know it sounds cold for BPI but governors parading in what is transparently a political stunt all it does is keep this in the news for another cycle, gives more fodder to the late night shows and further undermines beef demand. You need to stop digging before getting out of the hole. Unfortunately, however well intentioned this is, the insistence that LFTB is equivalent to a ground piece of chuck further muddies the water and will not bring back beef demand, it will undermine it.

Can you find out where the 1.5 million cattle number came from? It seems like someone threw it out there and it keeps getting repeated over and over. I can't figure out how you need 1.5 million cattle to replace about 500 million pounds (this is 100% and it will not be 100% of product lost) of LFTB in the system. Not been able to find one news outlet that has verified this claim, it just keeps getting thrown out there.

The 1.5 million head estimate was stated by the BPI representatives at their press conference in Amarillo. Assume they are basing their estimates on company based data - not just parroting some other figure from another source.

The commotion surround lean finely textured beef reminds me of a child throwing a tantrum about eating their vegetables and the parent giving in to child despite his/her lack of knowledge. I am not suggesting that the beef industry force consumers to stay in their chair until they've eaten their burger; however, I'm afraid this might set a precedent for any future consumer concerns about beef. We live in the U.S. and I'm very thankful for the choices that we have, but in this case, the uninformed have been informing the misinformed.

Sadly, we've lost this battle short-term, but I believe, with continued education and rational discussions about the facts of LFTB (and when the term "filler" is no longer used!), we could regain some demand. Also, I think it is important to encourage journalists to do their job and report the facts. It may require a little time and effort, but the average American is looking at you as a source of information - take the high road and report unbiased information.

As we move forward, I hope to continue in conversations with family, friends, co-workers and strangers every chance I get about why I have 100% confidence in ground beef and LFTB.

It always bothers me when we think the consumer is stupid, or does not understand, or does not get it, or is a child throwing a tantrum. Stop with this stuff, no-one ran a successful business with this kind of approach to the consumer. You need to meet them where they are. I give the US parent a lot more credit than most people in this forum. I suggest we all do so if we want the cattle herd to stay at 90 mil head and our ranchers to stay in business.

As a rancher, I agree that we have to meet the consumer where they are to help them gain a better understanding. I want people to choose beef as their number one source of protein. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if consumers "understood" and "got it" concerning LFTB, we wouldn't be in this situation today. It appears that the second they heard the incorrect term that is being used, they instantly refused the product. I refused to eat broccoli when I was a child, but after maturing and taking time to understand that it is good for me, I accepted it and willingly eat it now. Just want to make sure we are on the same page.

Kristen, your analogy with broccoli or vegetables does not hold. You may not like the taste of broccoli as a child but you end up eating it as an adult because of the nutritional value that your cannot get eating chips and salsa. There is nothing more nutritional in a piece of LFTB than in a piece of ground chuck, I would argue there is a little less, not a lot but a little. The difference is price and the consumer needs to know that for 50 cents more they can get product that is ground beef muscle vs. something a little cheaper that is ground beef trimmings that have been treated with amonia or citric acid to kill the bacteria.

Its just sad that the media couldn't just present the facts about it to the public but instead insisted on using the yuck factor and mis-information to scare everyone into believing this was a horrible thing when in reality it isn't

Some thoughts on the LFTB situation...The swift and overwhelming spread of this negative campaign confirms the power wielded by media today. The lesson I have learned is that I should not be too quick in forming an opinion when reading news topics about which I have little knowledge. I am a cattlefeeder, therefore, my knowledge base did not allow me to be "sucked into the pink slime untruth". How many times have I been guilty of skimming a news article, accepting it as truth and forming an opinion without further research? More times than I care to admit, I'm sure. Another thought: Perhaps Oprah should view this LFTB debacle as an opportunity to redeem herself with the beef industry. Oprah, I challenge you to assign this topic to your staff. Dig in and find the truth, present the accurate story to America from your powerful social soapbox and mend the broken fences you created years ago. If there is anything I have learned, it is that whining about injustices (clout of the media) is a waste of time and resources. Instead, use the media to get out your own message. What goes around, comes around.

Good grief, have any of you read the label on a package of ground beef. In addition to beef, there are artificial flavors, coloring and half a dozen other chemicals for who knows what purpose. I love beef, but quit buying the ground stuff from the grocery store years ago when the packers felt the need or necessity to improve it.

I have yet to see any good recipes for LFTB.

If we need to grow the herd to replace the Pink Slime, great. Send the LFTB back where it belongs in pet food.

"Beef, that's what we do!"
If you are in AG, in all facets, you are the living advertisement for the entire industry. If our cattle eat today, it's because of Farmers. If the Farmer eats today, it's because of the Cattle ranchers or Feeding Industry...If the world eats, it's because we all work together for the common good of all, across the world!!!
Love the shirts!!! God job :>)

I find it amazing that the more affluent a society becomes they become so philosophical about their food. How can the "Ick Factor" in an educated society bend the balance scale to out weigh scientific truth? I think sushi is quit icky, but I just choose not to eat it, I don't demand everyone else stop eating it! Really if you find LFTB icky then I would think ground beef in general would be icky to you--so just don't eat it--but it is all really rather ridiculous because after all "Dude, it's Beef"!!!!!.

I was going back through some old articles and found one titled "McDonalds discontinues use of ammonium-based pink slime in hamburgers." Obviously that writer had some skewed facts. That was January...and what did the ag industry do? Not much til now.

I admit to seeing the picture on facebook numerous times of the so called "pink slime" and just skimmed over it...unfortunately I think we in agriculture sometimes are rather complacent over these things until there's a huge controversy.

My calf contractor was talking to me at the rodeo this weekend about how much calf prices have gone up in the last year. I told him about this latest issue with the LFTB and he made the same comment as the tshirt creator..."Dude, it's BEEF!"

We need to be as vocal as possible about this and every other issue we face. A speaker at a conference I was at once said "We don't have to all make a huge splash...even a pebble makes a ripple in the water." I for one am telling anyone who will listen the facts about LFTB, hormones in food, antibiotic use in livestock, and anything else they'll listen too. Time for us agriculture folks to make some ripples!

It's all in the words we use. People hear that this meat come from the floor, they don't understand that is what the packers call an area where something is done like the killing floor. It is not the floor floor. This meat came from the trimmings "floor".
Tim

I place poitive comments about beef on my facebook page. I ask anyone who believes the pink slime junk to come out to my farm and show me pink slime on any of my cattle. I made a comment that my cows don't have pink slime. I recently butchered two beef and sold them instantly. Although I appreciated the quick sale of my beef, I pointed out the the customers that there's nothing in what they are calling pink slime that isn't beef.

Dude, IT IS BEEF!!!!! I believe that says it all. It is not pork, or chicken, or filler or whatever! It is beef, it came from a cow, it is sold as beef and eaten as beef. I mean, did you ever read the labels of other different kinds of foods in the grocery store? When you buy a bottle that says "Apple Juice", that is what you expect, apple juice to be in the bottle, right???? But when you read the label, it says in real small print, "only 10% juice and it contains grape and pear juice, sugar, coloring etc.". But I wanted apple juice, not all that other stuff. Now that is deceiving marketing to the consumer. Why again is that legal? When you buy beef that has been processed such as in the whole controversy of the pink slime, it is still beef and actually if you called it something other than beef, that would be improper labeling. I think the beef industry should be commended for attempting to utilize every bit of the cow instead of giving in to the expectations of our "naive pristine throw away society". Didn't anybody ever hear the old saying "Waste Not, Want Not".? I would wear that T-shirt proudly.

Beef is beef and I think that's the big picture here. What BPI does is simply getting the most that we can out of a beef carcass. They aren't creating something crazy. They just do everything they can to make a consumer demanded lean beef product that ultimately helps keep beef available and affordable for more people.

The fact that it will take another 1.5 million head of cattle to supply the need that is currently met by LFTB is a huge amount. There are only so many cows and so much land suitable for raising cattle on and we need to be as efficient as we can. Putting progressive companies out of business and pushing away new technology will severely hamper our ability to feed the world in the future.

I don't know why the media decided to pick on the beef industry, but they did. With their half truths and "pink slime" myth, they have costs people their jobs in a struggling economy. Some school systems have stopped buying the beef. The school meals are the only good meals some kids may get, and they need the protein. There is not enough beef to make up the difference without the lean trimmings. Why not use everything possible and not be wasteful. Being wasteful creates problems later on down the line. With all the negative publicity, it has caused a lot of no win situations, loss of jobs, cut back on school lunches, etc.. If people read the labels on everything they eat, they would be surprised at what they're eating,and might stop eating it. Potted Meat for instance, ever read what it's made of and wonder how it was processed? There are a lot of foods out there on the market, if we knew what was in it or how it is processed, we might not want to eat it either. I personally will keep eating beef, and I also like Potted Meat ! I'm glad that Andrew Revkin spoke out for Beef even though he is not a big fan. I'm glad he's realistic. The media has created a real problem not just for the Beef industry, but for a lot of others also. The media don't really care, they;re just out for the ratings. They will eventually walk away from the "pink slime" thing and not worry about the results they have caused.

Dude, it's BEEF!!! plain and simple. My 9-month old ate some taco meat for the first time tonight. He LOVED it!! He wouldn't stop crying til he got more. I'm a BEEF eater and so is my family!! I want a shirt badly :-)

"It’s amazing how quickly an orchestrated PR campaign can sink a USDA-approved and proven product "

Really? Widespread is not the same thing as "orchestrated". This was widespread because makers of LFTB left themselves exposed to investigative journalism when they decided not to disclose to use of this product. It is irrelevant that it's not required to be disclosed - the makers of LFTB containing products failed to appreciate that consumers want to make an informed choose. When something like LFTB makes its way into their food without them knowing it creates a great opportunity for journalists and food critics to expose this practice. This wasn't orchestrated - it was just ripe for the picking, and BPI brought this misfortune on itself.

Retailers ought to be buying pure LFTB and putting it out as a product on the shelves! I for one would love to eat pure LFTB 97% lean beef hamburgers as long as the price is so cheap right now. Where do I get some?

For one thing, beef producers and or the beef industry does not know what to call it. Is it LFTB, LBFT,FTLB. With all the acronyms thrown around, I'm not sure I want to eat it. Why was it ever called anything other than what it is (beef)? I assume chili meat is course textured lean beef (CTLB). Remember the acronym KISS.

Check out BEEF magazine’s coverage of Saturday’s public show of support in Sioux City, IA, for BPI and LFTB here. How do you think this controversy over LBFT has impacted the beef business?